Virtu Financial has joined BitGo Prime's global liquidity network, bringing a major traditional market maker into BitGo's institutional digital asset trading stack.
The companies announced the partnership in a joint press release on July 15, 2026.
Separating Custody From Execution
The partnership also splits two functions that are typically bundled on centralised crypto exchanges: custody and execution. BitGo's custody and settlement infrastructure now pairs with Virtu's liquidity provision.
Under the arrangement, BitGo provides qualified custody and settlement; Virtu provides liquidity and pricing. Assets can remain in custody while execution routes through a separate liquidity network.
Scotte Moegling, head of business development for digital assets at Virtu, said the partnership lets the firm offer institutional clients "the competitive pricing they have come to expect across other asset classes." The comment was included in the July 15 release.
Virtu Financial Ireland holds MiCA authorisation. The licence gives it passporting rights to provide liquidity and trading services across the EU's 27 member states; it was publicly disclosed on June 2, 2026. BitGo Europe has held a MiCAR licence from BaFin since May 2025, covering custody and settlement.
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Other Banks are Building Similar Infrastructure
Standard Chartered is separately planning to launch a crypto prime brokerage. The service would be housed within its venture unit SC Ventures, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.
While the discussions are at an early stage, and a launch date has not been set, the bank has already backed crypto custodian Zodia Custody and trading platform Zodia Markets. In July, it became the first global systemically important bank to offer spot crypto trading to institutional clients.
The BitGo-Virtu partnership points to the same pattern: custody and execution infrastructure for institutional crypto is increasingly being built by firms with existing regulatory standing in traditional markets, not by crypto-native platforms alone.
Virtu disclosed preliminary second-quarter results alongside the July 15 announcement: expected net income of $285 million and adjusted net trading income of $718 million, equivalent to roughly $11.6 million per trading day.
